Carpet Plants 



mones, and dog's-tooth violets may come up 

 through them without doing or receiving injury ; 

 they must be very close-growing, shallow-rooted, 

 and spreading in every direction without laying 

 bare their centres. There are many such plants, 

 but they have to be well chosen and carefully 

 looked after. The ideal carpet plant for English 

 gardens is our lawn grass ; it is the plant that 

 makes all the difference between English and 

 continental gardens ; but it is only good as a 

 lawn plant ; if allowed to wander into the flower 

 beds it very soon becomes a pestilent weed. Not 

 only has it the habit of placing itself in the very 

 midst of good plants, and so choking them, but, 

 like all other grasses, including the bamboos, it is 

 such a gross feeder that it soon takes to itself all 

 the moisture and good food that it can reach ; so 

 as a carpet plant for the flower beds it is worse 

 than useless. 



About forty years ago a plant was introduced 

 which promised to be not only a rival of the grass 

 for lawns, but also a beautiful carpet plant in our 

 borders. It was a Sagina, but whether S. pro- 

 cumbens or 6". pilifera I am not sure. It was 

 first grown to a large extent in a garden at 

 Sydenham, and there I saw it. The garden was 

 a small one of the usual suburban type, enclosed 

 by the house and three walls, and, as far as I 

 recollect, the whole space was carpeted with this 

 Sagina, and a most beautiful carpet it made, 

 having such a likeness to a rich green velvet-pile 

 67 



